Awards
Each year, SGA is in charge of presenting certain awards and honors to students, faculty, and staff out of appreciation. The honors and awards are the Masterbuilder Award, Faculty / Staff Citations, and Homecoming Queen and Ugly Man. Here are the details of each of these awards and honors.
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Masterbuilder Award
THE SELECTION PROCESS
Six graduating seniors who best typify the spirit of Southwestern are selected annually by the following process. The registrar prepares a list of graduating seniors who are enrolled in campus-based programs, excluding persons who have previously been elected Masterbuilder. Each Student Government Association member nominates six seniors from the list. Any senior receiving a nomination is included on a list submittled to the faculty. Each faculty member votes for six seniors from this list. Any senior receiving one or more votes from the faculty is included on a list submitted to the student body. In an election conducted by the Student Government Association, each student may then vote for six seniors. The six graduating seniors receiving the hightest number of votes are named Masterbuilders. The formal announcement of these seniors is made at the spring honors convocation.
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Faculty & Staff Citations
Teaching (faculty) and Non-Teaching (commonly referred to as staff) Citations are presented to those members of the Southwestern College community who model extraordinary characteristics in service and extend themselves in helping us, as students, exceed our personal and professional goals.
Election is by the Student Government Association Senate at the conclusion of each school year. Plaques are presented at our annual Honors Convocation to those who receive citations. A person who has received the citation in the three previous years is not eligible for election in the current year. The teaching citation designates the award that is given to a member of the teaching faculty. The non-teaching award may be given to any person who has contributed to the Southwestern College community.
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Homecoming Queen & Ugly Man
Each year, the students of Southwestern nominate Juniors and Seniors to be crowned Homecoming Queen and Ugly Man. The candidates are nominated by organizations, athletic groups, and social groups. The nominees are then voted on by the student body.
HISTORY OF THE UGLY MAN
The contest began in 1970, as a money making project for a new women’s service club on campus that year, Iota Pi Omega. According to Decker, this group was made up of women who did not belong to the other two sororities on campus. The 1970 yearbook mentions that the group sponsored an Ugly Man on Campus contest that year, but did not say if it was held during Homecoming, as it is now.
Candidates were nominated in a similar manner as they are now - different organizations nominated the Ugly Men. However, during week before Homecoming, donation jars were made available for the student body to vote for the Ugly Man by way of money. Pennies added to the amount of votes a candidate received, silver change took away. For example, someone could dump 25 pennies into a jar, and someone else could turn around and donate a quarter to cancel out the pennies. Whoever had the most money in his jar at the end of Homecoming week received the title of Ugliest Man on Campus for that year.
Candidates went all out to try to be the ugliest - donning all sorts of unusual, even grotesque, outfits to pose for pictures. The men tried to top each other by trying to make their costumes worse than the others.
Up until the mid-90s, the Ugly Man did not escort the Homecoming Queen candidates at the crowning ceremony. Two different coronations were held - one for the Queen and one for the Ugly Man. It has only been in recent years that the Ugly Man was considered the equivalent to Homecoming King.
Within the past few years, nominees for Ugly Man have discontinued the tradition of attempting to be ugly. The contest has become more formal, taking on the aire of a King, rather than an Ugly Man.
